Chapter 78: Whereabouts

“That can’t be.”

At Glare’s shocking words, Hames shot back with narrowed eyes.

“Our master… isn’t that kind of person. Glare, what would you know when you’ve never even seen the guild master yourself…”

“Calm down.”

Hames, who always showed a light and relaxed demeanor, was glaring at his own guild member with a sharp edge, so I patted his shoulder.

‘Crescent’s guild master, huh…’

Even when I was active, I’d never seen that person. They never showed themselves to the outside world.

Of course, aside from Jihyeok, I didn’t interact with anyone except Mr. Luca, so I might be similar, but Crescent’s master had never once appeared before the world.

Right after successfully clearing the S-Rank Gate, Dark Moon, there was a discussion with each guild’s master about distributing the rewards. At that time, the one who showed up as Crescent’s representative wasn’t the master, but Ludwig. He made it clear that he wasn’t Crescent’s master, just an acting guild master…

The fact that even Glare had never seen them meant that even Crescent’s high-ranking members hadn’t laid eyes on the master…

‘He wasn’t incompetent, though.’

I saw Hames in a new light.

During that time, Crescent might have shown the weakest performance among the Five Great Guilds, but they’d never once been pushed back by the guilds below them. That meant Hames, as the acting guild master, was running the guild well. Of course, it was probably possible because of the reputation of Moonlight backing him.

But from what I could see, Crescent’s prestige was gradually waning, whether people noticed it or not. Right now, even that Moonlight wasn’t doing any clear activities.

In the end, no matter how skilled Hames was, he couldn’t stop cracks from forming inside. Just look at Glare, isn’t that proof? She’s suspicious of Crescent’s guild master. And she’s the one closest to the acting guild master. Hames must have felt it too.

No matter how good the acting guild master is, a guild without a master is bound to fall.

“…I think I need to hear why Ms. Glare suspects Crescent’s guild master first.”

“I should have said that first. I’m sorry, Sir Hames.”

Glare stood up from her seat and even bowed her head to apologize for her slip of the tongue.

“…”

Hames still had a sulky look on his face. But as if deciding not to show any more of it, he let out a small sigh and then turned his gaze to Glare, as if telling her to go ahead and say it.

“First, there’s something I need to correct from what Sir Hames said. I have met Crescent’s guild master before.”

“You have?!”

Hames shouted in disbelief, his voice full of surprise.

“When?”

“Three years ago.”

Three years ago again.

I was starting to get sick of hearing the phrase “three years ago.”

“…Three years ago, I saw Crescent’s guild master at End Cave.”

“End Cave?”

The familiar word slipped out of my mouth involuntarily.

End Cave… three years ago, that was the Gate where the incident that ended me happened.

“Yes. It was right after we subjugated ‘Eblis.’ While I was looking around the Gate, I happened to find the children, and while I was getting them out… they appeared out of nowhere.”

“…I’ve never heard of this.”

Hames said in a low voice, his face full of disbelief.

‘Eblis… it’s been a while since I heard that name.’

I’d heard plenty about that Demon Beast’s infamy.

Eblis was the name of the first Demon Beast the allied subjugation force encountered at End Cave. True to being a Demon Beast from an S-Rank Gate, it was an S-Rank Demon Beast and was said to have displayed a presence to match.

That bastard was a Demon Beast that absolutely couldn’t be subjugated by a single guild, and so an unprecedented battle began, with all the guild masters of the Five Great Guilds participating. For reference, Crescent didn’t send their guild master, but Moonlight, who had a presence greater than any guild master, participated.

The subjugation ended successfully, but the damage was severe. Despite being the first Demon Beast they encountered, it alone took the lives of hundreds of High-Rank Hunters. It caused setbacks in the strategy from the very start.

From the first Demon Beast, they calculated the number of casualties from each guild… and because of that, the alliance started to clash and temporarily disbanded. They reunited not long after to continue the strategy, but the result, as you know, was failure.

For the record, this was also the background that led me to head to End Cave.

To prevent a Dungeon Break, the Gate had to be cleared, but those who had tasted fear in that Gate were reluctant to challenge it for a while. The Association approached me first, offering abundant support, and asked me to clear End Cave. I had no reason to refuse. Back then, I was overflowing with confidence.

In the end, it went to shit anyway.

…Anyway, let’s skip the past talk.

“What happened there?”

The fact that you got the kids out is news to me, but running into Crescent’s guild master there too… It’s suspicious. As far as I know, Crescent’s guild master didn’t even participate in the End Cave raid. They sent guild members and Moonlight as a proxy. It’s well known they haven’t shown their face since then either.

“I thought I was the only one who knew about the children inside the Gate. But that person… told me to take the kids and get out, as if they knew everything from the start.”

“…So what does that mean?”

“What I mean is, I don’t think our master is a bad person. I just think there must be some reason they’re working with that group.”

“Then why didn’t ya just say that from the start?”

At Glare’s words, Hames finally spoke with a relaxed expression. He must have been afraid that his own guild master might be a villain.

“Master… back then, don’t you think they appeared before me to protect the children found in the Gate?”

‘…Hmm.’

I don’t know what the hell Crescent’s master is up to, but from what I’ve heard so far, they don’t seem like someone who’d do anything bad.

“But if the last time you saw them was three years ago, I take it you never ran into them in that… group?”

“Yes. But… I do have one guess.”

“A guess?”

“The incident that happened three years ago. The one where a non-Awakened person died in the Gate.”

“…”

At Glare’s words, I narrowed my eyes. This woman knows who I am. I don’t know how she figured it out, but… why is she suddenly bringing up that incident?

“…Maybe the person who died in that incident was Crescent’s guild master.”

“What?”

“Huh?”

At the sudden, out-of-nowhere remark, my eyes and Hames’s went wide.

“You just said they might be part of that group.”

“Exactly. Maybe they did something against the group and got kicked out?”

“But the person reported dead there was a non-Awakened, a regular civilian. Crescent’s guild master is…”

“Think about it the other way. What if Crescent’s guild master is actually a non-Awakened?”

“…?”

Glare’s words left me speechless.

“That can’t, that can’t be… I’ve seen our master in person.”

“Have you ever seen them fight? As far as I know, Crescent’s guild master is known for being mysterious, but they’ve never personally stepped up to fight.”

“But to be a guild master, don’t you at least need to be a High-Rank Hunter?”

A guild master who manages their guild’s Hunters needs the ability to control them.

Only those who’ve risen to at least B-Rank Hunter can found a guild. To stand out from there, you’d naturally need to be even higher.

It *used* to be quite common for a small guild’s master to be B-Rank. These days, the number of High-Rank Hunters has dropped significantly and they’ve been absorbed into other guilds, but back then, you could see B-Rank Hunters as guild masters all the time.

“No matter how ya look at it, that’s a hell of a stretch. A guild master being a non-Awakened? That condition alone doesn’t hold up.”

“What if they had a proxy?”

“A proxy? Hold on.”

The word ‘proxy’ sparked a thought.

“S-Rank Hunter…”

The reason Crescent has maintained its prestige to this day.

“Ludwig Light…”

I quietly murmured Moonlight’s name.

“Ms. Verdi, I’m surprised ya know that name. Most folks only know the word ‘Moonlight.’”

“How could I not… He’s a legendary Hunter.”

Surprisingly, not many people remember the full name of the world’s strongest Hunter, Ludwig.

Moonlight.

Because those two syllables are enough.

“Mr. Hames, how much do you know about your master?”

“Me? I…”

Hames struggled to continue, then let out a sigh before finally opening his mouth.

“Honestly, I don’t know much… Other than that they were someone who helped me a lot…”

Just as I thought.

“I think we need to find Moonlight and ask about Crescent’s master.”

That seemed like the only way to get a lead.

…About End Cave, too.

* * *

“Ugh…”

Luca came to his senses from the metallic taste at the corner of his mouth.

He slowly opened his eyes. What came into view soon after were his own two arms, bound.

Luca was sitting in a chair. His entire body soaked in blood. The floor was drenched with it.

He lifted his head with difficulty. What he saw then was a human silhouette.

The woman who called herself a passing mage, and one other person whose body was hidden by a robe.

There had clearly been two people hiding themselves in robes, but now only one was visible.

‘Claire…’

Luca carefully surveyed his surroundings, making sure not to be noticed by them.

A place reminiscent of a cave. The fortunate thing was that Claire’s figure was nowhere to be seen. But he couldn’t relax. The fact that one of the two robed figures was missing meant they had definitely gone to chase after Claire.

“Hm? You’re awake?”

At that moment, a woman’s voice reached Luca’s ears. The passing mage — she flashed a sinister smile at the awakened Luca.

“…What do you want?”

“You already know, don’t you?”

Karelin approached his side and murmured in a whisper near her ear.

“Where is that mage?”